Hand-operated plier-like tools

ABSTRACT

An improved plier-like tool of the general type disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,238 but differing therefrom in that the movable jaw segments are pivotally connected to a reciprocable slide for swinging movement in a common plane toward and away from each other, rather than being mounted for sliding movement only. The slide is adapted to be reciprocated in its slideway by a roller which is mounted at the working end of a plier arm, i.e. the end remote from its handle end, which with closing movement of the plier handles moves in an ascending but substantially flat arcuate path, during the course of which the roller periphery abuts the lower end edge of the slide and actuates same in upward direction, as results in the movable jaw segments being actuated toward one another. Spring means effects retracting movement of the slide and corresponding spreading of the movable jaw segments whenever opening movement of the plier handles is initiated.

Unite '0 States P Erdma tet Sept. 4, 1973 HAND-OPERATED PLIER-LIKE TOOLS [75] Inventor: Hans Erdmann, Maplewood, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Waldes Kohinoor, 1nc., Long Island City, NY.

[22] Filed: Mar. 24, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 237,628

[52] US. Cl 72/410, 29/200 H, 81/307, 81/349 [51] Int. Cl 321d 9/08 [58] Field of Search 72/410; 29/200 H, 29/203 H, 203 HC, 203 HM, 203 HT, 212 R, 212 D; 81/303, 307, 308, 309, 349

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,276,238 10/1966 Erdmann 81/308 3,075,198 1/1963 Over 72/410 2,861,490 11/1958 Rozmus 72/410 3,000,422 9/1961 Yeiser 29/203 H 3,575,036 4/1971 Hoffmanm. 72/402 3,688,553 9/1972 Demler 72/410 Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerM. J. Keenan Att0rneyJ. Harold Kilcoyne [57] ABSTRACT An improved plier-like tool of the general type disclosed in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,276,238 but differing therefrom in that the movable jaw segments are pivotally connected to a reciprocable slide for swinging movement in a common plane toward and away from each other, rather than being mounted for sliding movement only. The slide is adapted to be reciprocated in its slideway by a roller which is mounted at the working end of a plier arm, i.e. the end remote from its handle end, which with closing movement of the plier handles moves in an ascending but substantially flat arcuate path, during the course of which the roller periphery abuts the lower end edge of the slide and actuates same in upward direction, as results in the movable jaw segments being actuated toward one another. Spring means effects retracting movement of the slide and corresponding spreading of the movable jaw segments whenever opening movement of the plier handles is initiated.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures HAND-OPERATED PLIER-LIKE TOOLS INTRODUCTION This invention relates generally to improvements in hand-operated plier-like tools for assembling, nonresilient shoulder-forming retaining rings in grooves provided for their reception in carrier members, i.e. shafts, spindles, etc., and more particularly to an improved (simplified, easy-to-operate) plier-like tool of the type disclosed and claimed in my U. S. Pat. No. 3,276,238 dated Oct. 4, 1966 for assembling nonresilient, shoulder-forming rings according to U. S. Pat. to Conner No. 2,888,852 dated June 2, 1959, which patents, the inventions thereof, and the invention of the present application are commonly owned.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates and provides a plier-like assembly tool for assembling non-resilient shoulder-forming rings on shafts, spindles, etc. by contracting them in circumferential grooves provided therein for their reception, which is substantially easier to operate than a plier-like assembly tool according to my prior US. Pat. No. 3,276,238 and thus can be operated with one hand instead of two hands, all other factors being equal.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a plier-type tool for assembling nonresilient shoulder-forming rings in grooves provided therefor in shafts, spindles, etc., which is characterized by its capacity to impart radial-inward contracting pressure on the ring outer periphery of a magnitude insuring against the ring turning in its groove after assembly therein.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a plier-form tool characterized as aforesaid and wherein the jaw assembly is interchangeable so as to adapt the tool for use with rings of different sizes.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a plier-form shoulder providing retaining ring assembly tool which is substantially less expensive to manufacture than the tool of my aforesaid US. Pat. No. 3,276,238.

Still another object of the invention is that of providing a plier-form shoulder-providing retaining ring assembly tool of a design such that it operates with a minimum of friction and at the same time requires less accuracy in dimensioning of the parts and surfaces thereof than the tool of my afore-mentioned US. Pat. No. 3,276,238.

The above and other objects and features of merit of the improved plier-form tool of the invention will appear from the following description, in which reference is had to the accompanying drawing illustrative thereof, wherein FIGS. 1 and 2 are front views in elevation (handles only partly shown) of a plier-form assembly tool according to the invention, of which FIG. I shows the tool with its handles spread and the ring-contracting jaws in their open or inactive positions, and FIG. 2 shows the tool with said handles closed and the ring contractingjaws in their correspondingly closed or pressureapply positions;

FIG. 3 is a rear view in elevation of the tool of the invention with handles and ring-contracting jaws as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 and 5 are sections taken along lines 44 and 55, respectively; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view corresponding to the FIG. 2 view.

Proceeding now to a detailed description of the plierform tool of the present invenion, it is explained that said tool, with the exceptions to be noted hereinafter, corresponds generally to that disclosed in my aforementioned US Pat. No. 3,276,238. That is to say, it comprises a pair of crossed lever arms 10,12 pivotally connected intermediate their ends by a rivet 14. The respective lever arm portions extending to one side of the pivotal connection are formed as handles 16, 18, which may be separately fashioned and secured to the lever arms as by welding.

The portion of the lever arm 10 which extends to the other side of the rivet 14 has elongate L-formation, the longer leg 20 thereof being offset slightly from the longitudinal center line of the tool and terminating in a shorter leg 22 which extends at a substantial right angle therefrom and traverses said center line.

According to the present invention, a jaw assembly designated 24 is removably secured as by screws 26a, 26b to the shorter transversely extending leg of the L- formation so as to depend relatively downwardly therefrom. Said jaw assembly comprises a generally rectangular, fixed-position back plate 28 having a vertically elongated, i.e. elliptical, workpiece opening 30 provided therein of a size enabling the tool to be threaded or passed over a shaft or spindle in whose groove a retaining ring is to be permanently compressed. A stationary jaw segment generally designated 32 is secured (as by screws 32a, 32b) flush against the relatively front face of the back plate 28, said stationary jaw segment having an arcuate ring-engaging and compressing edge 34 extending along an approximate arc of a circle of radius corresponding to that of the outer edge circle of a fully compressed ring, which edge projects relatively downwardly into said backplate opening 30.

Said back plate 28 also mounts or has integrally formed therewith two fixed-position cam blocks 36, 38 having camming surfaces 360, 38a symmetrically disposed to and at diverging angles of 30 to the vertical center line of the back plate 38 and its shaft-receiving through-opening 30.

The aforementioned jaw assembly also includes leftand right-hand jaw segments generally designated 40, 42 which are pivotally connected as by pivot pins 44, 46 for turning or swinging movement toward and away from each other in their common plane, to a slide 48 mounted for relatively vertical translatory movement in a slideway 50 provided therefor in the front side of the aforementioned back plate 28.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, said movable jaw segments are formed with arcuate ring-edge engaging portions 52, 54 each extending along a 120 arc of a circle or radius corresponding to that of the outer-edge circle of a fully compressed ring, said arcuate edge portions being formed in adjacent upper-edge portions of the jaw segments 40, 42. Thus, when the movable jaw segments 40, 42 are brought together, said arcuate edges will extend in continuation of one another and together subtend a 240 arc of a circle having radius as aforesaid.

The outer upper-edge corners of said movable jaw segments 40, 42 are cut away to provide inclined edges 56, 58 extending at a supplemental angle to the aforementioned camming surfaces 36a, 38a of the fixedposition cam blocks 36, 38, with which said inclined edge portions are relatively vertically aligned.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that, responsive to the slide member 48 being actuated (translated) relatively upwardly, the jaw segments which are normally spread as in FIG. 1 are cammed relatively inwardly or towards each other by the camming surfaces 36a, 38a of the fixed cam blocks 36, 38. By design, the upward translatory movement of the slide member 48 is such as to swing the pivoted jaw segments 40, 42 relatively towards each other to a position in which their relatively inner vertical side edges coincide with the longitudinal center line of the tool, such also resulting in their arcuate edge portions 52, 54 and the arcuate edge portion 34 of the fixed jaw segment 32 combining to define a 360 circle whose radius corresponds to that of the circle of the outer edge of a ring to be compressed when said ring is in fact compressed in assembly.

According to a further important feature of the invention, the slide 48 is translated (actuated) in jawsegment-closing direction by bodily movement of a roller 60 throughout the uppermost flat or horizontal arc of a circle struck from the center about which the plier arms close and open, i.e. the pin or rivet 14. More particularly, the end of the plier arm 12 disposed to the side of said pivot 14 opposite its handle end is relatively short as compared to the corresponding end of the other plier arm, and it mounts at its extreme end a roller 60 having diameter such that its peripheral surface always contacts the bottom-end straight edge of the slide 48. Thus, closing of the plier arms will impart bodily movement to the roller 60 in a slightly ascending arcuate path to its position shown in FIG. 2 in which it has actuated the-slide 48 to its uppermost position. However, because movement of the roller is along a substantially flat or horizontal arcuate path as stated above, the rate of movement of the slide becomes slower the more the plier handles are closed. Such is a feature of practical advantage because the pressure required to compress or contract a ring increases with closing of the jaws. Thus, the slower movement of the roller as described makes possible a substantial increase in the pressure which the jaws exert on a ring then being subjected to radial inward compression, without at the same time increasing the force required for closing the handles.

The invention also provides simple, positive means for effecting retraction of the slide member 48 and corresponding separation of the jaw segments with opening of the handles. By reference to FIGS. 3-5 inclusive in particular, it will be seen that such means comprises a double-ended spring 66 whose middle-length portion is coiled about a screw 68 affixed to and projecting rearwardly from the back plate 28. The opposite ends of the spring 66 are formed as open hooks 70a, 70b shown to be hookably engaged about the heads of cap screws 72, 74, whose threaded shank-ends 62, 64, after passing through slots 72a, 74a provided therefor in the back-plate 28 symmetrically to the sides of said screw 68, are threaded into the movable jaw segments 40, 42. In order to insure in so far as possible the free movement of the shanks of the screws 72, 74 along the length of the slots 72a, 74a, flanged spacer sleeves 76, 78 are provided therefor in said slots 72a, 740. Thus,

the movable jaw segments 40 and 42 are held in their plane by the screws 72, 74 which are permitted free up and down movement in the slots 72a, 74a of the back plate 28.

Referring now to FIG. 6, such illustrates a slightly modified construction using simple rollers 36r, 38r for the cam blocks 36, 38 and their camming surfaces 36a, 38a, of the prior described invention form. By proper positioning thereof on the back plate 28, said rollers will function to actuate the jaw members 40, 42 relatively towards one another about their respective pivot pins 44, 46, responsive to the slide 48 being translated relatively upwardly as previously described.

Normally, the double-ended spring 66, acting through its open-hook ends and the cap screws 72, 74, tends to bias the movable jaw segments 40, 42 to their spread-apart position, the slide to its correspondingly lowermost position, and the plier handles to their fully spread position, all as indicated in FIG. 1 of the drawing. Since this bias increases with closing of the plier handles one on the other, it is a feature of the invention that, upon opening or spreading movement of the handles being initiated, the energy stored in said spring 66 is immediately released, thus effecting what might be termed automatic opening or spreading movement of the plier handles to respective positions in which the tool is ready to perform the next ring-assembling operation if and when called upon to do so.

From the above, it will be appreciated that a plierform tool according to my presently disclosed invention reduces to a marked degree the substantial friction forces which interfered with the simple, easy operation of a tool according to my US. Pat. No. 3,276,238. More particularly, by using pivoting jaws instead of sliding jaws, by mounting said pivoting jaws on a balanced slide which moves with very little friction, and by imparting movement to the slide throughout its working stroke by means of a roller, the objectionable high friction forces characterizing the operation of an earlier plier-like tool according to my aforesaid patent are largely overcome.

Yet another feature of advantage characterizing the plier-like tool according to my present application stems from the fact that, whereas the sliding jaws employed in the prior tool require a slide fit having very close tolerances in order to avoid jamming, pivoting jaws carried by a slide member do not require machining to such close tolerances and are more certain in their operation and therefore less expensive to incorporate in a tool of the type under consideration than the sliding jaws of the prior art.

It is to be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

I. A plier-like tool for assembling non-resilient retaining rings in the grooves of shafts, spindles and like carrier members comprising: a pair of plier arms connected in crossing relation, corresponding end portions of said arms which extend to one side of the connection providing tool handles, the end portion of one plier arm which extends to the other side of the connection terminating in a leg which extends transversely through the longitudinal center line of the tool, a ringdeforming assembly movably secured in dependent relation to said transverse leg, said assembly including a plate-form member provided with a vertically elongated opening oversize with respect to the shaft or spindle in whose groove a ring is to be assembled and with a forwardly-facing vertical slideway which extends from the lower edge of said plate-form member in the direction of said opening, three co-planar jaw segments operatively mounted on the relatively forward side of said plate-form member, one said jaw segment being stationary and having a relatively downwardly-facing ring-engaging and a compressing lower edge extending along a 120 arc of a circle corresponding to the circle of the outer edge of a retaining ring when assembled to a shaft and the like passing through said opening, the other two jaw segments being pivotally connected to a slide mounted for relatively vertical translatory travel in said slideway and each having a ring-engaging and compressing upper-edge portion extending along a 120 arc of said circle, said two pivotally connected jaw segments being normally spread apart but being movable in their planes towards one another to positions in which their arcuate upper-edge portions extend in continuation of one another, means responsive to closing pressure on the plier handles for imparting relatively upward translatory travel to the slide and thereby swinging movement of the movable jaw segments about their pivotal connections towards one another and to positions in elevation such that their arcuate upperedge portions extend in arcuate continuation with one another and with said downwardly-facing arcuate edge of the stationary jaw segment whereby said edge portions combine to define a full 360 circle corresponding to the outer-edge circle of an assembled ring, and means operative upon cessation of closing pressure on the plier handles for effecting retraction of the slide and corresponding swinging movement of the movable jaw segments to their normally spread-apart position.

2. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein the means for imparting swinging movement to the movable jaw segments towards one another responsive to upward travel of the slide as aforesaid comprises cam blocks affixed to the plate-form member and having camming surfaces disposed in the path of travel of inclined upper-edge portions of the movable jaw segments and which are disposed relatively outwardly of said upper-edge arcuate portions.

3. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein said mean for imparting upward translatory travel to the slide responsive to movement of the plier handles in closing direction includes a roller mounted at the end of the foreshortened portion of the companion plier arm opposite its said handle end, said roller being bodily movable along an ascending arc with closing of the plier handles, during the course of which the peripheral surface of said roller engages the lower-end edge of the slide and actuates the same in upward direction.

4. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein the end portion of the companion plier arm which extends beyond said pivotal connection has short length as compared to that of the corresponding end portion of said one companion plier arm, said short-length end portion mounting a roller which, with closing of the plier handles, moves bodily in a gradually ascending but relatively flat arcuate path, during the course of which its peripheral surface engages the lower end edge of the slide as effects upward movement of said slide at a rate which decreases as the plier handles approach one another, thereby making possible an increase in the pressure which the jaw-segment edges are capable of exerting without correspondingly increasing the force required to close said plier handles.

5. A plier-like tool according to claim 1,wherein the means for imparting swinging movement to the movable jaw segments towards one another responsive to relatively upward travel of the slide as aforesaid includes rollers mounted in the path of travel of inclined upper-edge surfaces of the movable jaw segments and which are disposed relatively outwardly of said upperedge arcuate portions thereon. 

1. A plier-like tool for assembling non-resilient retaining rings in the grooves of shafts, spindles and like carrier members comprising: a pair of plier arms connected in crossing relation, corresponding end portions of said arms which extend to one side of the connection providing tool handles, the end portion of one plier arm which extends to the other side of the connection terminating in a leg which extends transversely through the longitudinal center line of the tool, a ring-deforming assembly movably secured in dependent relation to said transverse leg, said assembly including a plate-form member provided with a vertically elongated opening oversize with respect to the shaft or spindle in whose groove a ring is to be assembled and with a forwardly-facing vertical slideway which extends from the lower edge of said plate-form member in the direction of said opening, three co-planar jaw segments operatively mounted on the relatively forward side of said plate-form member, one said jaw segment being stationary and having a relatively downwardlyfacing ring-engaging and a compressing lower edge extending along a 120* arc of a circle corresponding to the circle of the outer edge of a retaining ring when assembled to a shaft and the like passing through said opening, the other two jaw segments being pivotally connectEd to a slide mounted for relatively vertical translatory travel in said slideway and each having a ringengaging and compressing upper-edge portion extending along a 120* arc of said circle, said two pivotally connected jaw segments being normally spread apart but being movable in their planes towards one another to positions in which their arcuate upper-edge portions extend in continuation of one another, means responsive to closing pressure on the plier handles for imparting relatively upward translatory travel to the slide and thereby swinging movement of the movable jaw segments about their pivotal connections towards one another and to positions in elevation such that their arcuate upper-edge portions extend in arcuate continuation with one another and with said downwardly-facing arcuate edge of the stationary jaw segment whereby said edge portions combine to define a full 360* circle corresponding to the outer-edge circle of an assembled ring, and means operative upon cessation of closing pressure on the plier handles for effecting retraction of the slide and corresponding swinging movement of the movable jaw segments to their normally spreadapart position.
 2. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein the means for imparting swinging movement to the movable jaw segments towards one another responsive to upward travel of the slide as aforesaid comprises cam blocks affixed to the plate-form member and having camming surfaces disposed in the path of travel of inclined upper-edge portions of the movable jaw segments and which are disposed relatively outwardly of said upper-edge arcuate portions.
 3. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein said mean for imparting upward translatory travel to the slide responsive to movement of the plier handles in closing direction includes a roller mounted at the end of the foreshortened portion of the companion plier arm opposite its said handle end, said roller being bodily movable along an ascending arc with closing of the plier handles, during the course of which the peripheral surface of said roller engages the lower-end edge of the slide and actuates the same in upward direction.
 4. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein the end portion of the companion plier arm which extends beyond said pivotal connection has short length as compared to that of the corresponding end portion of said one companion plier arm, said short-length end portion mounting a roller which, with closing of the plier handles, moves bodily in a gradually ascending but relatively flat arcuate path, during the course of which its peripheral surface engages the lower end edge of the slide as effects upward movement of said slide at a rate which decreases as the plier handles approach one another, thereby making possible an increase in the pressure which the jaw-segment edges are capable of exerting without correspondingly increasing the force required to close said plier handles.
 5. A plier-like tool according to claim 1, wherein the means for imparting swinging movement to the movable jaw segments towards one another responsive to relatively upward travel of the slide as aforesaid includes rollers mounted in the path of travel of inclined upper-edge surfaces of the movable jaw segments and which are disposed relatively outwardly of said upper-edge arcuate portions thereon. 